Hitting the hay

Philips understands that people in remote or rural communities are just as likely to have sleep apnoea as people in big cities.

Until recently, the town of Katherine, a small community 320 kilometers southeast of Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, didn’t have sleep services.

To address this unmet need, Philips established a sleep clinic in Katherine with remote patient diagnostic abilities.

I get a decent night’s sleep now. I've got more energy definitely."

David Thompson

It was this clinic which positively impacted the well-being of David Thompson following a referral from his sleep and respiratory specialist.

David has been a farmer since 1962 but his ability to perform his daily farm duties was being hindered by Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). OSA is where an individual stops breathing before waking with a gasp. OSA if not treated can lead to cardiac disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression. David was waking 15 times per hour which meant that the quality of his nightly sleep was poor and this in turn affected his health, his work and family life.

To treat his OSA, David started using the Philips Respironics DreamStation CPAP which detects breathing irregularities and automatically triggers a pressure adjustment to keep a patient’s airway open. The DreamStation then forwards David’s sleep data to the sleep clinic which allows his clinician and Philips’ sleep therapy consultant to monitor his nightly breathing without David having to leave his farm. David now sleeps through the night.

He wakes refreshed in the mornings, possesses more energy, and no longer requires day time naps. David can now return to doing what he does best, attending to his farm.